Sports Journalist

If you think you have sheer passion for a particular sport or sports in general, you are likely to settle in well into a career as a professional sports journalist. This career is mainly for articulate people who enjoy writing.
Sports journalists should be able to think out of the box. They must constantly innovate with new ideas and questions, to keep their readers or viewers interested.

A career as a sports journalist may entail traveling so this career may not be ideal for those who wish to have a very settled lifestyle. One must be willing to put in long hours and be able to meet often inflexible deadlines in this field.

Sports journalists have the task of informing and entertaining people about all the happenings in the realm of sports. Sports journalists can inform people by writing for newspapers, magazines, and websites. Additionally, they may present sports related news on a TV channel.

There are many options within the larger career field of sports journalism. One may opt to specialize in a particular sport, and only inform people about the happenings in the world of that sport. For example, there are a large number of cricket journalists all over India whose job is to inform and entertain the public with happenings related to only cricket. On the other hand, other sports journalists do not specialize in a particular sport, and end up reporting on all sports followed in a particular region.

A sports journalist may try working for a news organization, website or television channel. If they work for a larger business, sports journalists are assigned certain sporting events which they are then required to cover and report on.

There is also the added option of working as an independent freelance sports journalist. Many sports journalists maintain blogs on the internet where they share the latest sports news along with their opinions and analysis. Freelance sports journalists often sell their stories to larger organizations too. If a sports journalist chooses to be an independent worker, he or she must have excellent networking skills so that he or she can have access to sportsmen and sportswomen for first hand interviews etc.

While there are no necessary qualifications for sports journalists, they generally have a greater chance to break into the industry if they have a degree in journalism. They should also have internship experience, or sports writing or reporting experience during their college years.

The best and most famous sports journalists have remarkable incomes. Some figures estimate that sports journalists can earn up to USD$300,000 per annum in USA and Europe. However, the majority of sports journalists earn between USD$25,000 to USD$40,000. Sports journalists do have the added advantage of earning extra money by maintaining a personal blog or freelancing if their employment contract allows for it.

In India, most sports journalists are not very well paid. Only the top few sports journalists in the country earn considerable salaries. The highest amount of money is earned by cricket journalists.

While a career as a

sports journalist

may seem attractive to those who are passionate about sporting activities, many do not factor in the amount of stress this job brings with it. Sports journalists do not normally work 9am to 5pm jobs, but find themselves working overtime to attend games which are often held at night. Freelance sports journalists are thought to have it easier, but in order to earn a living through these means, they are also required to put in a lot of extra hours on the side.

The job may involve traveling to various different places attending games and writing detailed summaries during these trips. A lot of research, editing, proofreading and networking must also be done on the job. Sports journalists often have to interview players. Once they have attended the game, they normally send in their write-ups (which they typically write during the match) to their editors along with any side notes they may have taken.

Sports journalists normally experience the satisfaction of people pursuing their lifelong dreams. Those who work for a company often enjoy free travelling all over the world to follow games and write on them.

Sports journalists may become household names for fans through their columns and blogs, and they generally get opportunities to meet their biggest sporting heroes. The kind of access sports journalists have to the biggest sporting personalities all around the world is incomparable to any other profession in the world.

Sports journalists are often told that they have the perfect job. However, this is far from the case. There are a number of downsides when it comes to being a sports journalist. There is a lot of traveling that comes with the job, and while that might initially be exciting, it can take a toll on the journalist.

The generally low level of salary is another difficult thing to overcome. It often becomes hard for sports journalists to make ends meet. Sports writers have to work on holidays and weekends if there are any sports matches that they have to follow. Additionally, they can never fully enjoy sporting competitions as they have to work diligently throughout them.

There is a considerable level of competition in the sports journalism industry. The world has a large number of aspiring sports journalists, and the industry size is expected to remain relatively constant. As a result, becoming a successful

sports journalist

is not easy.

It is particularly tough for people who have not been involved with the sport they wish to inform other people about. Retired players or officials related to the game have an advantage when it comes to becoming a journalist for that game.

Sports journalists are required everywhere professional sports are played. Bigger cities all over the world see high profile sports matches on a regular basis. College and small town teams also play games often, and so require the services of sports journalists too. Likewise, in India, sports journalists have a slight advantage in cities but they are required in rural areas as well.